Rutaceae

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Rutaceae

Rutaceae, commonly known as the Rue or Citrus family, is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
of plant

Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, usually placed in the order

Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Sapindales

Sapindales

Sapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, Horse-chestnut s, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; and mahogany....
.

Species of the family generally have flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents. They range in form and size from herb

Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
s to shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree

TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s.

The most economically important genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
in the family is Citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
, which includes the orange

Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
(C. sinensis), lemon

Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
(C. × limon), grapefruit

Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropics citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m ....
(C.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Rutaceae'

Start a new discussion about 'Rutaceae'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Rutaceae, commonly known as the Rue or Citrus family, is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
of plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s, usually placed in the order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Sapindales
Sapindales

Sapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, Horse-chestnut s, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; and mahogany....
.

Species of the family generally have flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents. They range in form and size from herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
s to shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and small tree
TREE

TREE was a Boston hardcore punk band formed in the summer of 1990. They were active in the Boston music scene until disbanding in 2002....
s.

The most economically important genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
in the family is Citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
, which includes the orange
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
(C. sinensis), lemon
Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
(C. × limon), grapefruit
Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropics citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m ....
(C. paradisi), and lime
Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits , both species and Hybrid , which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3?6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon....
(various, mostly C. aurantifolia, the key lime
Key lime

The Key lime is a citrus species with a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter , that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime ....
). Boronia is a large Australian genus, some members of which are plants with highly fragrant flowers and are used in commercial oil production. Other large genera include Zanthoxylum
Zanthoxylum

Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the citrus or rue Family , Rutaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide....
and Agathosma
Agathosma

Agathosma is a genus of about 135 species of flowering plants in the Family Rutaceae, native to the southern part of Africa. Common names include Bookoo, Buchu, Bucco, and Diosma....
.

Characteristics
Most species are trees or shrubs, a few are herbs (Boenninghausenia), frequently aromatic with gland
Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s on the leaves
Leaves

Leaves are an Iceland five-piece alternative rock band who formed in 2001. They came to prominence in 2002 with their debut album, Breathe, drawing comparisons to groups such as Coldplay and Doves....
, sometimes with thorn
Spine (botany)

Spines are leaves that have been modified into cylindrical, hard structures with sharp ends. They are occasionally called thorn , which is incorrect ....
s. The leaves are usually opposed and compound, and without stipule
Stipule

In botany, stipule is a term coined by Carolus Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk . A pair of stipules is considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many species the stipules are inconspicuous or entirely absent ....
s.

Flowers are bract
Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf. Bracts are ordinarily associated with reproductive structures . They are ordinarily reduced in size relative to foliage leaves, or of a different color or texture from foliage leaves, or both....
less, solitary or in cyme
Cyme

Cyme or CYME can refer to:* Cyme, a kind of Inflorescence#Organisation *Kymi, ancient Cumae, a city in Euboea, Greece*Cyme or Kymi, ancient Greek colony on the coast of Aeolia, present-day Namurt in Turkey...
, rarely in raceme
Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
, and mainly pollinated by insects. They are radially or (rarely) laterally symmetric, and generally hermaphroditic
Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes Morphology aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
. They have four or five petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s and sepal
Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in a "typical" flower are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals are called the Wiktionary:calyx, and the collection of petals is called the Wiktionary:corolla....
s, sometimes three, mostly separate, eight to ten stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
(five in Skimmia
Skimmia

Skimmia is a genus of four species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the Rue family, Rutaceae, all native to warm temperate regions of Asia....
, many in Citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
), usually separate on in several groups. Usually a single stigma with 2 to 5 united carpels, sometimes ovaries separate and styles combined.

The fruit of Rutaceae are very variable: berries, drupe
Drupe

In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovary....
s, hesperidium
Hesperidium

A hesperidium is a modified berry with a tough, leathery rind. The peel contains volatile oil glands in pits. The fleshy interior is composed of separate sections, called carpels, filled with fluid-filled vesicles that are actually specialized hair cells....
s, samara
Samara (fruit)

A samara is a type of fruit in which a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue develops from the ovary wall. A samara is a simple dry fruit and indehiscent ....
, capsule
Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within....
s and follicle
Follicle (fruit)

In botany, a follicle is a dry unilocular many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds, such as in larkspur, magnolia, banksia, peony and milkweed....
s all occur. Seed number also varies widely.

Classification
The family is closely related to Sapindaceae
Sapindaceae

Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140-150 genera with 1400-2000 species, including maple, Aesculus and lychee....
, Simaroubaceae
Simaroubaceae

The Simaroubaceae is a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off....
and Meliaceae
Meliaceae

The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales,They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarpous, apparently bisexual flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters....
, and all are usually placed into the same order
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
, although some systems separate that order into Rutales and Sapindales
Sapindales

Sapindales is a botanical name for an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, Horse-chestnut s, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; and mahogany....
. The families Flindersiaceae and Ptaeroxylaceae are sometimes kept separate, but nowadays generally placed in Rutaceae, as are the former Cneoraceae. The subfamilial organization has not been fully resolved, but the subfamilies Citroideae (=Aurantioideae) and Rutoideae are well supported; the placement of several genera remains unclear.

Notable species
The family is of great economic importance under tropical climates for its numerous edible fruits of the Citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
genus, such as the orange
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
, lime
Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits , both species and Hybrid , which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3?6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon....
, kumquat
Kumquat

The kumquats or cumquats are a group of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, in the genus Fortunella which may better be included in Citrus as it is often done....
, mandarine and grapefruit
Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropics citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m ....
. Non-citrus fruits include the White sapote
White sapote

White sapote , also known as custard apple and cochitzapotl in Nahuatl is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica....
(Casimiroa edulis) and the bael
Bael

Bael ?????? ??? is a fruit-bearing tree indigenous to dry forests on hills and plains of central and southern India, southern Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand....
(Aegle marmelos). Other plants are grown in horticulture
Horticulture

'Horticulture' is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, Crop , plant breeding and genetic engineering, plant biochemistry, and plant physiology....
: Murraya
Murraya

The genus Murraya comprises 12 species in the family Rutaceae, including the Curry Tree. This genus, along with genera Clausena and Glycosmis within the same family, are a major source of carbazole alkaloids....
species, for example. Ruta, Zanthoxylum
Zanthoxylum

Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the citrus or rue Family , Rutaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide....
and Casimiroa species are medicinals. Several plants are also used by the perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
industry, such as the Western Australian Boronia megastigma
Boronia megastigma

Boronia megastigma is a species of shrub in the Rutaceae known by the common name brown boronia. This is one of several species of Boronia cultivated for its intense, attractive scent....
.

External links